Name: Sadie Chernila
Class Year: 2025
Major: Creative Writing
Hometown: Great Barrington, MA
Internship Organization: Jewish Voice for Peace Philadelphia
Internship Title: JVP Philly Student Intern
Location: Philadelphia, PA
What's happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
In this first half of the summer, a lot of the work that I've been doing is just familiarizing myself with the structure of the organization. My fellow interns and I have had many meetings with the subcommittees of Jewish Voice for Peace to learn what they do and how they work, and then in turn have done whatever small tasks those committees ask of us. This has included doing outreach for details of events we are planning (such as finding a venue for an upcoming event), phone banking to get participation for events we are hosting, and helping to plan an upcoming anti-Zionist shabbat. My fellow interns and I were also invited to take part in a lobbying day in DC with JVP Action, JVP's sister organization. We traveled to DC for a day of training and a day of lobbying congress and house members, asking them to call for an arms embargo on Israel-- to stop funding the genocide of Palestinians.
Why did you apply for this internship?
This year, I have done work with on campus groups Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, and wanted to continue that work through the summer to organize in solidarity with Palestine. I also wanted the opportunity to learn how organizing works outside of a university-- and wanted to learn from adults who have been doing this work for years. Additionally, I wanted more opportunities to connect with community members in Philly who are involved with organizing for Palestinian liberation.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
My favorite part of this internship has been seeing the different organizational structures of the organization-- it's been giving me a lot of insight on how to propel groups of people to action.
Can you give us three adjectives and three nouns that describe your internship experience?
Adjectives: Informed, Insightful, Imaginative
Nouns: Community, Ritual, Action
Career & Civic Engagement Center Creative Writing